Indian IT slashes spending on US lobbying on H-1B visa blues

The Indian IT industry has been lowering its lobbying spends in the US in recent years, according to filings made to the US House of Representatives and accessed by Mint.

- Jas Bardia

The development comes on the back of H-1B visas becoming a flashpoint for the US administration, with Indian companies expected to be among the hardest hit by a massive increase in fees for the visa, among other reasons.

Indian IT’s biggest lobbyist, Teaneck, New Jersey-based Cognizant Technologies, has sharply cut its lobbying spend from more than $3 million in 2020 to $2 million in 2024. The first nine months of 2025 has seen the company spend even lower—$1.7 million.

Industry body Nasscom has also scaled back sharply. In 2024, it spent $360,000 on lobbying, almost half the $700,000 spent in 2020. In the first nine months of 2025, it has spent far less comparatively—just about $20,000.

To be sure, India’s two biggest IT services firms—Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Infosys—have seen their lobbying costs rise each year from 2022 through 2024. TCS spent $1.04 million in 2024, compared to $930,000 in 2022, while for Infosys the numbers were $360,000 and $320,000 in the same period.